1st Place Marine Life Behavior

Steven Kovacs

"Mating Crabs"

The Story: Sargassum Swimming Crabs are a fairly common find in the waters off Florida, especially when matts of Sargassum can be found floating on the surface. At night they can be found diving into the depths,  well clear of their protective homes,  in search of food.  On this occasion, as I swept my lights side to side searching through the darkness for subjects to photograph during a blackwater dive, I was surprised to find these two crabs in a mating embrace diving and spinning past me as I swam at 50 feet.  This was the first time encountering this behavior over several years of open ocean diving and I was fortunate to be able to capture a photograph before the amorous couple disappeared even deeper into the darkness.

Location:  Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Equipment Used:  Nikon D500 Camera, Ikelite Housin, Dual Ikelite DS160 Strobes

Camera Settings: 1/250, F25, ISO 250

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